"Teaming Up"

Realtor "Teams" Suffer High Divorce Rate

To the public, it sure must seem like there are a lot of Realtor "teams" out there: 'the Nelson team'; "the Anderson-Jones team," etc. Substitute "group" for "team," and you'd describe even more Realtor pairings.

But are such combinations really that popular? And do they last?

I'm not aware of any empirical studies, but from what I've observed first-hand, I'd estimate that fewer than 5% of practicing Realtors formally partner with another Realtor (include married couples, and maybe the number is 10%). And the life expectancy of a typical "team" is probably less than five years.

High Divorce Rate

Why is that?

In seven-plus years in the business, I've never partnered with anyone, so I have to speculate.

My guess is that "too many cooks spoil the soup."

If the client is a couple, a residential deal already involves 3 parties (the two principals, plus the Realtor). And that's just one side. Add in a "Co-Realtor" (or two -- if the other side also is a "team"), and communication can rapidly become unwieldy.

That isn't to say Realtors don't make use of Assistants. Many do. And many more rely on informal, quid pro quo arrangements with colleagues to, say, back them up when they're on vacation.

However, in every deal, one agent needs to be primary (my opinion), and "teaming up" interferes with that.